My Braaaaand Neeeeeew Caaaaar!

Ok, so it's really a brand new to me car but still... Everything was kind of whirlwind, so here's the scoop:

My car was a 2002 Saturn SL that was originally my step father's. I bought it in 2006 after I totaled my 2003 Nissan Sentra (which I LOVED). SO I had it for six years and that little car just kept on trucking. Aside from an issue I had with the starter (when I took it in to replace it, first they put the old broken one back on, then they got a faulty one in there, then they clipped a wire... FINALLY the owner of the shop put in a BRAND NEW one and it's been fine ever since...), it's been a great little car. J is on his third car since I bought this one, and it was the car we took on all of our big journeys (so that I could also drive since I still don't know how to drive a stick shift), so it's been to Chicago, Memphis, Kansas City, and Branson. But.

My registration expires in October and to be honest I knew we were getting to a point where within the next couple of years we would be putting more money into her than she was worth. So we knew we'd be replacing her. Which meant another car payment -- not something I was looking forward to, considering we bought J's car last summer so we have 4 years of payments left on it. (We would be more than halfway through a car loan, but since his Sentra was totaled in Colorado last summer, we had to buy another one.)  But that's just what happens, you know?

But then the hail happened and the director of my school's car was deemed a total loss -- even though it was mechanically unharmed. All the damage was cosmetic. So they bought out her loan and she decided to sell the car and use that money, plus the extra money from her insurance check, as a down payment on a new (to her) car. So we got to talking and a few weeks later after I sold my car I bought hers!  Here is a picture of her:

Isn't she gorgeous? I'm excited that one of the "big" things on my 101 in 1001 list is checked off.

I'm getting a new car!

Numero Uno on my 101 in 1001 is to buy a new (to me) car. That is coming to fruition very very soon. It's all been kind of whirlwind, actually.

About a month ago, a huuuuuge hail storm (literally hailstones the size of baseballs) blew through the area. A lot of cars have bad hail damage, including my boss's 2007 Saturn Ion. It's all cosmetic, but she's taking the insurance money, paying her car off, and then using the rest for a down payment on a new car. Which means she's selling hers.

To me. Yay!

I was able to sell my car on Craigslist this week and will buy hers officially next week. I am super pumped to be getting a newer car with nothing mechanically wrong -- only some cosmetic damage, but if you've ever seen my current car you would know how much I don't care about that. Jerome even said it's a better car than his. Woo hoo!!

I don't have any photos of my new ride yet, but here is the stock photo:

Cars and Toenails

Thursday Jerome and I bought a car. it's a 2005 Nissan Sentra (oh, how I miss MY old Sentra... sniff...) with 76,000 miles on it. And, Jerome is always quick to point out, a stick. We got a great deal on it and it was a pretty quick and painless procedure. We test drove, we said we like it but we're only willing to pay $x amount per month, any higher and we walk. So they gave us the price we wanted (which was actually about $20/mo less than we could actually afford!) and we (well, J) got a brand new car. It was so nice being a two-car family.

Yes, I did say was.

Remember the fiascos I was having back in June with my car? how I had, like, 3 starters put in within a week?? Well, my car decided last night that it didn't want to start. Again. And it's 6,000 out of the 12,000 mile warranty on the part. Well FML.

Well, it started this morning so we drove it the 1 mile to the South branch of the shop we always take it to and dropped it off, then J drove me to work. My grandma was supposed to come pick me up at 3 for a doctor's appointment to remove and ingrown toenail, but they sent my home at 10:30, so J has to drive and pick me up, then take me home, then go to work ('cause I can't drive a stick yet!).

After I get my nastiness removed off of my foot, I called the garage for an update.
Diagnosis: Lagging Starter

BUT

He said he didn't care that we were 6,000 miles outside of warranty, he knows how much trouble we've had with this starter before, so he's replacing it. FOR FREE. And the diagnostics test he had to run? On the house.

MLIA